I was at the store last night and decided to check out a few bodybuilding mags, they had a section talking about the hardest training gyms in the U.S. The article spoke highly of PITT “Coaches of Physical Preparation” they gave a sample workout.
Partner resistance rev hypers
Band abductor work
Band terminal knee ext
1 leg ecc squat 2-3x10-15
squats: working sets 5x2x70
box jumps 15
GH+row 3x8-10
stretch
The article also gave high praise to PTC (Mark McLaughlin), the sessions listed were brutal. For example:
Box jumps 900
Sled pulls 50x30ydx90lbs
Weighted vest lunges for 20minsx40lbs
32,000lbs at 80+1rm
Typical training session:
squats 4x2x90
bp 3x5x85
inverted planks 3x90
GH
Oxidative work (I believe was pushups and squats)
What is the purpose of the oxidative squats? I’ve only seen them performed and I’m not sure of the intended effect. Lactic acid tolerance? Seems like a lot of time under tension.
You should go read the mag it has some kool stuff. Mark was talking about the starting TE for the Gaints (Kevin Boss) and how high his work capacity etc is compare to other athletes. He also gave credit to the omegawave, I must find funds to buy one.
Est 20,000-25,000 from what I hear. Gives you important data about the athlete cns, for example it lets you know if your athlete is ready to do those 900 box jumps.
The oxidative squats are to develop the oxidative capacity of the slow twitch muscle fibres, I believe.
I am pretty sure the tempo the squats are done at stimulate hypertrophy of the slow twitch fibres, and so when the slow twitch fibres grow, there is more aerobic enzymes and what not produced as well, which improves how well the muscle can use oxygen.
I am still somewhat unsure of when this type of work would be preferred over more traditional aerobic work.
“We use oxidative work to increase hyperplasia in slow-twitch fibers. The more mitochondria you have, hydrogren ions are eliminated quicker thus there is a better relaxation phase while sprinting. Our athletes have seen huge speed gains from utilizing this method in conjunction with speed work.”
That video from where this is written on youtube seems very out of place compared to all of their other ones. As well, doing “oxidative split squats” doesn’t seem like the most time efficient way to utilize an already fairly high volume method…It seems like they read about the method and just sort of stuck it in without knowing its purpose.
Also, does their explanation even make sense? I know that a higher oxidative potential of a muscle can help eliminate waste products such as hydrogen ions from the muscles (can anyone explain how/why this happens?), but I thought most of the research showed that H+ ions interfered with muscle contractility, not relaxation? And even then, there is conflicting research on that. Even if it did help with muscle relaxation, would the waste products be eliminated fast enough to make any difference in a short sprint?
In the context of sprinting I thought the main value of “relaxation” of the muscles was to relax the muscles NOT being used primarily, so that the active muscles could fire easier or more smoothly, correct?
I would think that there would be more hydrogen ions in the ACTIVE muscles, so if you are trying only to relax antagonists, then getting rid of hydrogen ions in the active muscles wouldn’t really help with the “relaxation phase” like they claim, would it?
The 900 box jumps is from Dr. Yuri Verkoshansky Special Strength Training: A Practical Manual for Coaches. It’s at the end of Block B for training high level American football players. It consists of (3)6x50, rest interval between sets is 2m and rest between series is 10-15 mins. It is done in one session. I hope this helps.
We use oxidative work to increase hyperplasia in slow-twitch fibers. The more mitochondria you have, hydrogren ions are eliminated quicker thus there is a better relaxation phase while sprinting.
By that logic marathon runners should be the fastest of all, since they have the best mitochondrial and ST development. The reality is most of this high falutin terminology is really just a fancy way of describing fast to slow muscle fiber transformations, something that is pretty much universally accepted power/speed athletes should avoid.
Our athletes have seen huge speed gains from utilizing this method in conjunction with speed work.
But have they not seen huge gains from speed work in absense of this? Doubtful. Having said that, if nothing else aerobic work keeps them lean and the loss of excess body-fat etc. can make up for many of the negatives. I imagine tht’s more along the lines of the value they’re seeing here.
"Oxidative squats are performed using a regular barbell + weight, the key to establishing the proper training effect is using a 2 second - lowering phase and a 2 second - raising phase but never allow for a relaxation phase (so there is constant tension). You can perform this movement for 30-60 seconds and then a 30-60 second rest.
The purpose of this typer of exercise is to develop the oxidative capacity of the slow twitch fiber. By doing this you improve the ability of relaxation (high concentration of mitochondria) and for athletes the more then can use slow twitch in competition the less cost on the court of field (because they are purely oxidative). By increasing the cross section by 20% this will equal a 20% increase of speed at anaerobic threshold.
it could help a rugby player…i think it could doom a sprinter or a speedy back…thay can tell to have success with some football testing or so, but not with a track time…imho…
Which is the mag btw?
I don’t get it, fast twich muscles are white hense close to the bone and slow twitch red and away from the bone, couldn’t it be the CNS is where it’s all at.
The purpose of this typer of exercise is to develop the oxidative capacity of the slow twitch fiber. By doing this you improve the ability of relaxation (high concentration of mitochondria) and for athletes the more then can use slow twitch in competition the less cost on the court of field (because they are purely oxidative). By increasing the cross section by 20% this will equal a 20% increase of speed at anaerobic threshold.
Except what it’s really doing is increasing the oxidative potential of intermediate fast twitch muscle fiber, which can adapt to become either more white (power oriented), or red (endurance oriented). Slow twitch are already oxidative and don’t hypertrophy to much extent at all. Increased mitochondria and glycogen storage capacity will favor better conditioniong though.
First you claim the hamstrings only flex the knee. Then you claim they’re hip flexors. Now you claim fast twitch muscle is close to the bone? What’s with you?
A majority of fast twitch fibers are near the surface of the muscle, with slow twitch fibers being deeper.